Tag: christianity

What Will You Do with Jesus? (John 5:1-18)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Healing the Paralytic, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1670

Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (New International Version)

Christ at the Pool of Bethesda, by Artus Wolffort, c. 1625

During one of the yearly Jewish festivals, on a Sabbath day, a miracle happened. Miracles of healing are typically accompanied by celebration and joy. But not so much with this one.

It’s one of those things about living in a messed up world of broken systems, that an invalid can start walking and there are people who have frowns and furrowed brows about it.

Granted, the man who was healed by Jesus may seem a bit hard to like in some ways. We don’t really know what he was into, but when Christ bestows healing on you, then says to stop sinning, it’s probably a significant sin to warrant the Lord’s exhortation.

Regardless of any sort of sin, the man appears to be paraplegic. Especially in the ancient world, this meant all sorts of problems had to be navigated – such as needing others to literally carry you around (no wheelchair or handicapped accessible anything), long periods of social isolation, lack of bodily control over your bowels and bladder, and the continual needs for cleanliness.

This made the man hard to like by many people just because he likely had strong body odors and had to crawl to get around if no one would help. He would not have been pleasant to look at. But he would have to make sure you did because, in the absence of any charity, the guy’s only option was to beg.

I’m glad there are greater forces in the world than indifference and dislike. There is grace – which is an act of bestowing honor and/or forgiveness to another person. It is not dependent upon whether one deserves it. Grace chooses not to hold something over or against another. It is a deep concern for others that comes from within and not from without.

“I do not understand at all the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.”

Anne Lamott

Another gracious act that Jesus did was to honor the man’s dignity by respecting him with a question. By asking a question, we don’t assume we know what’s best for another. Sincere questions acknowledge another’s basic humanity. “Do you want to get well?” Jesus asked.

In the life of being an invalid and having little control over much of anything, including one’s own body, being asked a question is to receive the gift of autonomy.

There are many times in my work as a hospital chaplain that I speak with patients who don’t have a lot of control in their lives. I go out of my way to ask questions such as, “May I come in?” “Is it alright with you if I pull up a chair and sit down?” “Would you be okay telling me about what is going on?” “May I pray with you?”

This is important, because there are too many other people in this world who would just barge into a room, act like they own the place, and talk at them, and not with them – hence reinforcing to the person that they’re nothing compared to others, that they don’t have any real say.

The man’s response to Jesus was to essentially say that he is alone. He has no one to help him. Even though the man is in a city, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of others, he is lonely.

Not anymore. Jesus saw him, even inquired about him and learned about the man. Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, cared about a non-descript invalid and was sincerely curious about him. In a world of everyone for himself, Jesus championed the lonely and the lost.

A simple command to obey was all. Christ told the man to pick up his mat and walk. That’s it. Just as words created the world, so a few words created a whole new life for the man. So, he got up, and he walked.

It’s interesting that the religious leaders never seemed to notice the man when he was lame, but now that he’s up and walking around, they pay attention to his apparent work on a Sabbath.

The invalid was validated by Jesus, but Jesus, the one validated by the Father, was invalidated by the religious leaders, who are the spiritual invalids.

It was against the (their) rules to carry something around. Apparently, it was okay for people to be lonely, not contribute to society in meaningful and dignifying ways, and to suffer; but it’s not okay to walk and carry a mat.

Even worse, is anyone who would heal on the Sabbath and tell the healed person to walk and carry a mat. It was so bad, apparently, that it warranted persecuting such a person. But that’s what happens when people are forced to serve rules, instead of the rules serving people.

On top of it all, Jesus was working; and he justified it by stating that his Father keeps working. This was dangerously close to blasphemy by likening himself to God. For the religious leaders, not only was Jesus unethical in breaking the law, but he was also theologically immoral; he claimed a special relation with God.

The more that laypeople get to know Jesus, the more compelling he becomes; they want to follow him. But the more that clergy discover Jesus, the more angry they become and want to do away with him.

Ultimately, it is Jesus we must contend with, and not the law and our interpretations of scripture. We need to decide what we are going to do with Jesus… what will you do?…

A Controversial Christ (Mark 2:23-3:6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Wheatfield with Crows, by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus. (New Living Translation)

Jesus Heals the Man with the Withered Hand, by Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib, 1684

I am continually amazed whenever good people are surprised by being embroiled in the muck of human controversy. Since we live in a profoundly fallen world, good is often going to buck up against the bad. Besides, Jesus often found himself in a controversy of some kind; and we are not above our Lord.

There are two distinct yet similar controversies in today’s lesson; and they highlight why there were some folk who were all upset about the way Jesus went about things. Such people eventually came to the dark decision that Jesus needed to go away, permanently.

Much of the controversy between Jesus and the religious leaders came down to particular views of God’s law; and, of course, whose view was going to win out over the other. It ended up becoming what almost all controversies are about: Deciding who is really in power and calls the shots.

The Politics of Hunger

It was a Sabbath day. Jesus and his disciples were walking through the fields. And they were hungry. So the disciples took some grain, broke off the heads, and ate them. To any non-Jewish person, there’s no problem here. But the Pharisees were concerned.

First, they observed the disciples walking through grain fields. The Pharisees thought they should be staying put on the Sabbath. Second, and perhaps more significantly, the religious leaders saw Christ’s disciples gleaning – which was working on the Sabbath. To them, any respectable Jew prepared their food the day before. This is a lack of holiness, of not taking the Sabbath seriously. And this was completely unacceptable to the Pharisees.

Wheat Field and Cypress by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Jesus, however, viewed walking through the fields differently. He did not consider the Sabbath as trivial; Jesus instead stood back and took a big picture perspective of it all. And that view included the ancient story of David, who took the consecrated bread in the tabernacle which was reserved only for Levite priests. (1 Samuel 21:1-6; Leviticus 24:8-9)

The reason David wanted the bread was because he was a fugitive, on the run from King Saul who was trying to take his life. Jesus insisted, on that day, the priest on duty did nothing wrong in giving the special bread to David. Yes, the strict letter of the law was broken; and, no, this was not wrong – because the priest was helping to save a life, and a very important one at that.

Jesus discerned there are times when particular laws come into conflict; so it’s necessary to maintain the spirit of a law in order to maintain a high value and meet a pressing human need. In a sense, Jesus gave a covenant code legal opinion on the subject.

It’s no surprise, to any reader of the New Testament Gospels, that Christ would behave this way; and that it would drive the religious leaders bananas. After all, they, the Pharisees, upheld law and rendered legal decisions – not this upstart wannabe. Jesus took an authoritative stance on what was happening, and the leaders did not at all like their own authority questioned.

This wasn’t some maverick interpretation by Jesus. He simply pointed out that the Sabbath is a gift, given to people to promote life and health – and not a burden that folks are to carry. Any decent Sabbath-keeper knew this.

It appears the leaders didn’t like being reminded of it from Jesus. What’s more, Jesus was much too close to likening himself to David. Yet another reason to despise this uppity teacher.

The Legality of Suffering

A second controversy brought the issue of who is in charge and who gets to arbitrate community values into a greater light. There is perhaps no other place for that conflict to happen than in the synagogue, the meeting place of worshipers. The juiciest things always seem to happen in a place of worship.

In the first story, the religious leaders were caught surprised over the behavior of Jesus and his disciples. They’re determined not to make that mistake again. From this point forward, it seems the Pharisees are continually waiting for a chance to put down Jesus as a lawbreaker and rabblerouser.

Byzantine mosaic of Christ healing the man with a withered hand, Cathedral of Monreale, Palermo, Sicily

For them, the issue wasn’t about the ability to heal, but whether it’s being done on the Sabbath. Much like the grainfield incident, healing is work, and working on the Sabbath is a direct violation of God’s immutable law. The religious leaders wanted to prove that Jesus has no regard for God’s will.

Law, for many Pharisees in Christ’s day, was meant to bring order so that chaos does not rule. Obedience to the law is a pre-condition for blessing. Without a clear demonstration of holy living, the community could be under a curse, much like their ancestors before them who were exiled for disregarding God’s law.

Yet again, Jesus cut through the anxious fear and authoritative posturing and went directly to the intended spirit of the law. The Sabbath, of all days in the week, ought to be a time for doing good, not harm; and to save life, not kill it. Jesus was not doing anything that could be considered work, anymore than his disciples were actually gleaning or harvesting grain.

There is no better day than the Sabbath for restoring a man’s withered and malformed hand, for giving him back his ability to make a living and contribute to the community. Much more was restored to the man than a physical ability; he now had the ability to better his life and his family, not to mention the local economy. It ought to be all good…

Unfortunately, the Pharisees didn’t see it that way, that the man gained his dignity back, his wholeness and his joy. They could only see a threat to their own hegemony.

The Beginning of the End

So, this marks the beginning of the end. The leaders are so upset and angry, they began plotting for Christ’s destruction. Unlikely political allies came together because of a common enemy. To view Jesus as a threat to society is, at the least, messed up. But that’s what happens when people cannot see beyond the end of their nose. They make bad choices.

Even though Jesus came to give life, others want to take his. Despite the fact that Jesus did not reject the law or demean the Sabbath, people with a short-sighted agenda and hard hearts could only see someone upsetting the status quo.

Today, these same things can quickly turn to hostility. The legal implications of one’s values and commitments can get nasty fast. Opinions can harden, resulting in oppression, persecution, and even death.

The most noble of motives can go sour; and the best of intentions, the highly educated, and the most gifted persons among us can become despotic in their leadership. Indeed, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

This is why the gracious and benevolent kingdom of God will win the day. Hard-hearted people become desperately out of touch with what is most important; they are calloused to the human need in front of their faces. I believe that the words and ways of Jesus can dispel those dark forces and impulses.

I’ll take a controversial Christ any day because that is the path to life abundant and everlasting.

Whenever unjust, oppressive, harmful, and fearful systems hold on, the ministry of Jesus exposes them for what they are, and will deliver us from evil.

Thanks be to God!

In Need of Integrity (John 7:19-24)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Pharisees, by German painter Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, 1912

It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”

The crowd said, “You’re crazy! Who’s trying to kill you? You’re demon-possessed.”

Jesus said, “I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be hypercritical; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.” (The Message)

One of my ardent desires for every person on planet earth, is that they will experience an integration of themselves – that they will know their true selves. And with this awareness, their head, heart, and gut will all be in alignment with each other. Every part of oneself will be acknowledged and work in harmony with the other parts.

I’m talking about wholeness. This is what produces peace, unity, harmony, joy, and strength of spirit. For me, this is the consummate Christian path of discipleship to walk. Jesus has gone before us to clear the way as the pioneer of our salvation. He makes it possible to realize wholeness. Christ has the ability to make us well and to live well. To know Jesus is to be whole.

People who are a bundle of disparate parts – with some of those parts suppressed and unacknowledged – are disturbed. They always seem to be upset with something because the parts of themselves are unable to communicate with each other. With them, there is no peace or wholeness. There is only a myopic view, usually coming from only using the head, only thinking.

But to have thoughts of God, to think about God’s law, and to police how God is thought of and how God’s law is implemented – without the heart or the gut involved – leads to fragmentation and disruption.

To only think, and withhold feelings and intuition, is to sin.

It’s impossible to know God and live God’s commands without involving your entire self. A head without a heart cannot affect humanity with the good that it so desperately needs.

A heart without a head cannot effectively steer the rudder into accomplishing sustained goodness.

And a head and a heart without a gut cannot sense the danger around the corner and loses its good plans and intentions.

Jesus was addressing religious leaders and a large chunk of fragmented people. Many of those persons were unable to discern who Christ actually is, because only the person of integrity and wholeness can do that. So, each one came at Jesus from their own limited place of disintegration. And none of them were able to truly see themselves as they actually are – blind to the reality that they were not keeping God’s law.

Christ and Pharisee, by Russian artist Ivan Filichev, 1993

A fragmented person’s perspective comes at things like this: “I’m obeying the law, although there are some laws I’m not really holding to.” Yet, Jesus understood that to break just one law makes us lawbreakers and in need of healing and wholeness.

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. The disintegrated person only saw Jesus working on the Sabbath, which in his head is a no-no. It requires work to heal someone. Therefore, it can wait until tomorrow. Thus, this Jesus fellow sinned against God and disobeyed God’s law. In fact, it only stands to reason that he is in league with a demon, the fragmented person reasons.

But that is to make a poor discernment of the situation. It is, however, only what the fragmented person can do. However, a wise understanding of the man’s healing by Jesus is to observe that Love has come among you – that Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath – and that this bringing of wholeness to a person, in restoring not only his health but his ability to connect with society, family, and community, is a knowable good thing. This is most certainly not what any sort of demon would do.

Perhaps one ought to test the spirits and make a good, right, and just discernment. Just maybe, Jesus is the one who can guide us to wholeness, goodness, and integrity. It could be that God is among us, and we didn’t even know it.

Constant criticism of others only deflects from paying attention to our own spirit; and always living in your head keeps you from experiencing the heartache of love.

Merely giving-in to the heart without engaging the head creates a caregiver who has no idea how to care for themselves; eventually they become bitter and gain a critical spirit that no one is caring for them as they care for others.

Blurting-out gut-reaction judgment at another may be truthful, but it will be taken as a severe and discouraging criticism because there was no thought or heart behind it.

There are a lot of upset people in this world. Yet, there are precious few persons with the wholeness to speak from the head, heart, and gut as a unified whole, bringing words and actions of life to others.

The persecuted person is one who has become wonderfully whole, namely because there are far too many fragmented people who view them as a threat, and see them as demonic. Fragmented folk believe they need to put the integrated person in their place, if not done away with altogether.

And that is exactly why Jesus was arrested, tortured, and killed. But fragmentation, disintegration, oppression, and sin do not have the last word. They are not the judge. There is resurrection, new life, and abundant joy because the grace of God in Christ always has the last word.

Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, by Argentine artist Jorge Cocco Santángelo

There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. That’s the way of the fragmented ones; they will find themselves cursed. However, the blessings of God’s rule and reign recognize and affirm the whole person. Jesus said:

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of competing or fighting. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. (Matthew 5:3-10, MSG)

May you live into who you are, and avoid who you are not, to the glory of God. Amen.

Accomplishing the Mission, No Matter What (Acts 25:1-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Saint Paul before Festus and Agrippa, by Philip Galle (1537-1612)

Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.

Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” (New International Version)

The Story Up to Now

Paul was in a pickle. Earlier in his life, as an up and coming star amongst the Jewish Pharisees, he had a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. Paul did a complete 180 degree turn from opposing and persecuting Christians to becoming a Christian himself.

As you might imagine, this did not go over well with the Jewish establishment, and especially the Pharisees. From the event of Paul’s conversion and onward, he was a marked man. And he knew it.

But Paul didn’t care. He embraced his new life and calling with as much or more zeal than his old life. Paul dedicated himself to missionary journeys, proving that Jesus is the Christ, and establishing churches. Some of the Jews (by no means all) hated him for it. As a result, the Apostle Paul was whipped, stoned, and left for dead more than once. Finally, the upset Jews were able to get Paul arrested and jailed.

And that is where we pick up Paul’s story. And it’s also likely why he appealed to Ceasar instead of staying in Palestine; he knew he wouldn’t survive for too long surrounded by the same sort of people whom he used to run with in trying to stamp out the Christians.

The Present Story

Paul originally dealt with Felix (Acts 24) but then with a change in administration, he faced Festus. The Jews who opposed Paul wanted him transferred to Jerusalem from Caesarea. But Festus was no dummy; he knew this was an age old trick to try and ambush the Roman guards on the way and assassinate Paul. So, Festus went and saw Paul in Caesarea.

Things went as one might expect: Unsubstantiated charges are leveled against Paul in court; Paul maintains his innocence; Festus asks Paul if he wishes to go to Jerusalem for trial, or not; and Paul refuses. But the thing that no one expected is that Paul took the further step of appealing directly to the emperor himself.

We aren’t told why Paul made this appeal – although it certainly appeared as if he may not get a fair trial in Palestine. Yet, we do know that Paul had a desire to fulfill his calling of bearing witness to the gospel of Christ in the West, and to Rome.

It seems to me that, at this point, Festus saw an opportunity to rid himself of all this Jewish weirdness (as he saw it) and send Paul off and out of his own jurisdiction. One less difficult Jewish problem to have to deal with in this far off Roman outpost in the Middle East.

The Story to Come

As Bible readers, we know what is upcoming for Paul – all of the dramatic events and twist and turns of his life getting to Rome and under house arrest in the city. Yet, even though none of us really know what another day will bring, the Apostle Paul was driven by his purpose of gospel proclamation and bringing the message of Christ to the farthest western reaches of the Roman Empire. And to that end, he was not going to be dissuaded or deterred, even when he had little to no control over his life as a prisoner.

A person with meaning and purpose is a person with faith and hope. And when love is the thing animating the purpose, then it doesn’t much matter what the outward circumstances are. Perseverance and resiliency always find a way where there seems to be none.

Half of life is spent discovering, learning, and developing our skills, gifts, and abilities. The other half is applying and honing those skills in new and different contexts. As long as we know what we’re about, and we keep putting in the hard work and practice it takes for continued and sustained excellence, then each situation we encounter becomes an opportunity to extend my purpose in a new experience.

And that is what the Apostle Paul did. It wasn’t about changing or manipulating situations or people; rather, it was about finding pathways to accomplishing his mission on this earth with the calling he received from God. I would say that Paul did a pretty dang good job at that.

I also believe that you and I can do it, too.

Holy God, you search us out and know us better than we know ourselves. Help us to discern your voice and your calling. We seek to listen and learn from the wisdom of Christ. Raise up faithful people who will speak words of life with clarity and grace, with justice and true compassion; in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.